Lorenzo back to Yamaha?
Speculation growing that Lorenzo could be reunited with the M1 Running out of options as Mir heads to Suzuki
Jorge Lorenzo may be set to make a spectacular return to Yamaha machinery for the 2019 MotoGP world championship. The 31-year-old Spaniard is understood to have lost out on a chance to join the Suzuki squad and remains on rocky ground with current employers Ducati. Lorenzo’s time with the Bologna firm has been difficult to say the least as he tries to adapt his smooth riding style to the aggressive nature of the Desmosedici. Able to make some headway and still showing glimmers of his old form (like when he led the opening laps of the French Grand Prix two weeks ago), he has nonetheless struggled to maintain any level of consistency with the bike.
And that’s starting to grate with his Ducati bosses, with not only the head of the racing department but also Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali, who are both becoming more and more public in their disappointment in the high-budget experiment to put Lorenzo on the bike. Rumoured to be paying him €12 million a year (and his race-winning team-mate Andrea Dovizioso only a tenth of that), they too are no doubt under pressure from their Audi overlords to fix the situation.
And with the five-time world champion looking at limited options thanks to MotoGP’s earlierthan-ever silly season, it looks like championship bosses Dorna are formulating a plan that could not only keep him in the series but also return him to Yamaha machinery. Rumours have emerged of a plot to place Lorenzo in the Marc VDS team on a factory-spec bike under satellite guise. Already linked to Monster sponsorship, as the drinks company will split from the KTM Tech3 team, it could well be the perfect solution for Dorna, Lorenzo and Yamaha.
With Rossi and Viñales struggling to develop the M1 since his departure and with results suffering as a consequence, it could make a huge difference to the success of the project to bring Lorenzo back into the fold. There’s also been further rumours of the Sepang team’s involvement in the project. Initially linked to a satellite Yamaha deal as a way of keeping rookie sensation Hafizh Syahrin in the top class, Lorenzo could be the favoured choice as team-mate given his popularity in the key South East Asian market.
While Lorenzo initially looked to be Suzuki-bound, that option seems to have disappeared thanks to reigning Moto3 world champion Joan Mir’s aspirations to move up to the premier class after only one season in Moto2. Rumoured to have a pre-contract with the Repsol Honda team to replace Dani Pedrosa, it seems that he’s now decided to attempt to replicate the success of Maverick Viñales by making the move to Suzuki. That also seems to fit with Suzuki’s aims, with the Japanese firm looking to move away from big-name riders after a difficult season and a half with Andrea Iannone helming their project. Instead, the Hamamatsu firm are keen to cultivate young talent into title contenders, a formula that’s worked out well for them so far with both Viñales and Alex Rins.